Corn-planter.



C. W. LANHAM.

CORN PLANTER.

APPLucATIoN FILED FEB. 21. |914.

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C. W. LANHAM.

CORN PLANTES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21, |914.

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C. VV. LANHAV.

CORN PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2I. 1914.

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COLONEL W. :DANI-IAM, OF JOLIE'I, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0

:BRADY WIRELESS CORN PLANTER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A v(.VOIMEOLJA- TION 0F DELAWARE.

CORN-PLANTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 1 an. 15, 1.913.

Application led February 21, 1914. Serial No. 820,370

To all wlw/nt t may concern:

Be it known that l, COLONEL Wonronn` LANHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Joliet, in the county of Will and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn- Planters, 'of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to corn planters :and its purpose is to provide improvements over the structures embodied in my prior Patents Nos. 812,755 and 939,717.

ln the construction of a corn planter it is very desirable that some means be pro`- vided whereby the corn will be dropped in .hills at fixed intervals and whereby the hills of adjacent rows will aline with each other so that the hills of corn will lie in rows both longitudinally and transversely of the field in order that the corn may be cultivated between the hills in both directions.

The principal object of my invention is to provide improved means for automatically planting corn so that the hills of corn will with substantial certainty lie in rows both longitudinally and transversely of the field. Other objects will be set forth and made apparent in the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in whichigure 1 is a side elevation of my improved corn planter.

Fig. 2 is atop plan view tion of the same.

Fig. 3 is a partial side elevation of certain parts of the operating mechanism.

4 is a side elevation partly in section of the corn hopper and associated parts.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5, 5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view ating lever. l

Referring to 'the drawings, the main frame of my improved corn planter, designated generally bythe numeral 10, comprisesv the side frame members 11 and 12 and the front and rear cross frame members 13 and 14, respectively, said frame members being rigidly connected at their meeting points. Relatively near the rear end of said side frame members 11 and 12 are secured bearings 15 and 16 in which the shaft 17 is journaled. The shaft 17 has nonrotatively mounted thereon at one end the covering and supporting Wheel 18 and rotapartially in secof the clutch operlare parallel with the shaft 32.

tively mounted thereon at the other end thereof the covering and supporting wheel 19. Each of the wheels 18 and 19 has a rim made in two parts 2() and 21, which are joined by U-shaped brackets 22. These parts are of such form that the outer periphery of each wheel presents an inwardly concaved surface for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth.

Near the front end of the frame 10 and rigidly secured thereto are the arch supporting members 25 and 26 having rigidly secured thereto the tongue 27 by means of which the planter is drawn across the eld. It is apparent that the tongue 27 and the wheels 18 and 19 serveas supports for the frame of the [planter and parts carried thereby.`

The front cross member 13 of the frame 10 has secured thereto and depending therefrom the plates 28 which have pivoted thereto at the points 29 the ends of a substantially U-shaped sub-frame 30 having fixed thereon the bearings 31 in which are journaled the shaft 32 of a marker wheel 33. The marker wheel 33 is fixed on the shaft 32 and has a wide rim whose outer flat surface is provided at diametrically opposite points with depressions 34 which As the planter is drawn across the field the marker wheel 33 coacts with the soft earth and the depressions 34 serve to leave ridges on the surface of the ground at fixed intervals in the path of the wheel.

The side frame members 11 and 12 are provided with oblong slots 35 which serve as limiting guides for the shaft 32 and within which said shaft may be made to oscillate in a substantially vertical plane. rIhe outer ends of the shaft 32 terminate in housings 36 comprising corn hoppers 37 above the shaft and outlet ducts 38 below the shaft. The outlet ducts 38 are substantially rectangular in cross section, as shown in Fig. 5.

Fixed on each end of the shaft 32 within each housing 36 is a dropper disk 39, aoljacent the upper peripheral surface of which is an outlet passage 40 leading from the hopper 37. The disk 39 is provlded on its peripheral surface at dia-metrically opposite points with recesses or cups 41, which are adapted to receive charges of corn from the hopper 37 as they pass by the outlet passage 4 0. Pivotedbelow the dropper disk 39 at the point 42 is a latch member 43 having a lower depending arm 44 adapted `to lit the outlet duct 38, as shown in F ig. 5. The upper arm of the latch member 43 .is provided with a lug 45 which lies in the circular path of the dogs 46, which are fixed at diametrically opposite points on the end face ofthcdropper disk 39. The dogs 46 are in. substantially the same plane withv the de pressions 34 in the rim of the marker wheel 33. The parts of the latch member are so arranged that said latch member normally occupies the position shown in `Fig. 4 and the charge of corn which drops from a recess 41 as the disk 39 rotates will fall down and be retained at the point 47 by the arm 44 until the next following dog 46 strikes the lug` 45. At this pointthelatch member is actuated and the charge of corn is dropped through the outlet. duct -to the groumlsimultaneously with the marking of thev ground betwcenthe rows by the depressions 34 in the. marker wheel 33. i

In the lower part of the hopper 37 adjacent the outlet passage 40 is a. small housing 48 having an opening' adjacent the outlet passage 40, which is closed by the upturned portion 49 of a plate 50 which is pivoted to the housing 48 at the point r51. The lower surface of the plate 50 bears on the upper peripheral surface of the disk 39 and oscillates freely so that if-kernels of corn are drawn between the flat peripheral surface of the disk 39 and the plate 50, the plate 50 will swing upwardly about its-pivot 51 and all danger of clogging'of the parts of the device will be avoided.

Beneath each housing 36 is a furrow opener 52 pivoted at point 53 to the from cross arm 13 of the frame and provided adjacent the rear portion thereof with two diverging plates 54 which pass on either side of the outlet duct 38. An arm 55 is fixed to the furrow opener adjacent the housing 36 and has pivoted thereto an arm 56 whose other end is pivoted to the plate 28 `at the point 29. These arms 56 servev to prevent lateral swaying of the furrow openers and at the same time permit an upward anda downward movement thereof. The furrow openers 52 make a furrow ahead of the corn:

dropping mechanism into which the corn is dropped at fixed intervals by the mechanism the 'point v58 to the frame Vof the machine and has a spring actuated tooth 59 which may be operatedlby the hand latch 60 to en gage one of the notches in the notched quadrant 61, which is also fixed -onl the frame. vAt a point adjacent its lower end the lcver 57 carries a pivoted sleeve 62 in which is journaled a link 63 having its other end pivoted to the bellcrank lever 64. The bell crank lever 64 is journaled in the side frame at 65 and its lower arm is connected by means of the link 66 to the rear end of the furrow opener 52 at the point 67. Thelink 63 has va pin 68 inserted therethrough which prevent-s said link from sliding out of the sleeve 62 and enables the operator to elevate the furrow openerl V 52 by moving the lever 57 in an upward and backward direction. A spring 69 is mounted on the link 63 and has one end abutting against the sleeve 62 and the other end abutting against the pin inserted through t-heflinkv 63 at the point 70. These springs provide. a certain flexibility in the adjustment olf-the furrow openers 52 so that if al furrow opener strikes a stone or other hard obstacle in its path, the spring 69. will be compressed, the link 63 sliding in the sleeve 62, thereby permitting a slight upwardv movement of the furrow opener 52 and avoiding danger of injury to the parts of the structure. l

Keyed on the marker shaft 32 is a sprocket wheel 71 androtatably mounted in alinement therewith on the main shaft 17 is a second sprocket wheel 72. An endless sprocket: chain I73 operatively connects these sprocket wheels. Carried on the main shaft 17 is a clutch mechanism comprising the clutch lever 74, pivoted at point 75 on the sleeve 76 carried by the shaft 17, having oppo-V sitely disposed arms 77 and 78 and an operating arm 8O at right-anglesthereto. The sleeve 76 is maintained loosely but non-rotatively on the shaft 17 by meansof the braces 76a which are fixed at their endsto said sleeve and to the frame of the machine. Piwl oted to the end of the forward arm 77 of said clutch lever 74 is a link8l which has its otherend inturned and journaled on the hub of the clutch sleeve 82, where it is Vheld in position by the annular shoulder 82a. The

Yclutch sleeve 82 is slidably but non-rota tively mounted on the shaft 17 and is provided on its outer face withbeveled teeth adapted to mesh with the toothed wheelI 82"y fixed to the sprocket wheel 7 2. At theouter-end o f the arm 78 of the clutch lever 74 is a` link 83 whose outer end carries a sleeve 84 which is journaled on the hub of the clutch sleeve 85 keyed -in slidable position on theV shaft 17. The clutch sleeve 85 is provided on its outerV face with beveled teeth' adapted to mesh with teeth carried by a wheel 85b fixed on the covering wheel 19 and the hub of said sleeve tion. 1

is provided with theannular 'shoulder 85a against `which the" sleeve 84 abuts whenthe sleeve 1s withdrawn into` inoperativeposi- .Between the clutch; sleeve 82 `and the sleeve 76 carried by the shaft 17 is a coil spring 87 which operates to normallyforce theclntch i sleevesroutwardly and into engagement with i the gear wheels carried bythe sprocket wheel 72 andthe covering wheel19. Pivoted on a shaft 88 carriedin fixedposition above the sleeve76 1s aflever 89whose lowerend below the -shaft'88is provided with av slot 90'which- `engages the operating arm 80 oftheclutch lever 7 45 Thelever 89 carries a springactuated `tooth 91 Lwhiclimay be operated by .the hand. latch 92 to engage one; of the notches in the notched,.quadranti93V fixed on the' sleeve 76. l i i Rigidly connected with the lever 89 on the shaft 88 is ra foot lever 94 havingthe arms 95 adaptodto be engaged bythe feetof the operator,and` vpivoted at its other end to the Alink 96. The other cnd of the link 96 ispivoted toithetwo arms 97 which areaiiixed at their,forwardr ends to the 'rear end .of` the tongue 27. 'i f .An auxiliarypilot wheel 98 having a rim similar to that of eac-h covering wheel 18 and 19-is located ahead of each of said covering wheels l and operates h to smooth the `surface oftheground infront of saidwheels. `Each pilot wheel 98 has its shaft" supported by `means of a crank arm `9.9 from a cross arm 100, which is journaled on the side frame members 11 and l2` Vat points 101.` The shaft of each pilot wheel 98 also hassecured there` to a link102 whose upperV end is pivoted. to

. thelever arm 103 `of across bar 104 which isjournaled inthe' side; frame members;V at the point-s 105. The cross bar 104 has `fixed thereon an arm105a` whose upperend is piv'-y oted to anoperating Alink 106. The other end' of said link 106 is pivoted` to an operatin lever 107, pivoted onthe-,shaft 88, which has a spring actuated tooth adapted to be Opere atedbyahand latch-.108 to engagethe notches. in the fixed'notched quadrant109;

It* is :apparent .that said lever 107fmay `loe operated to raise or lower.said pilot wheels 98 4out of or into engagement with'the surface .of the cross frame 14 in such a position that the operator can conveniently reach. all the levers above. `described The operationgof my corn 'planter is as followsz-.Beginning atthe'end of the 4field the operatorfmanipulates the leve1-89-to2re f Y lease the tooth v91 and permit theclutchl sleeves `82and 85 .to slide intoloperative posi.- tion nnderthe iniuence of the then non-rotatively fixed on the shaft 17 ground ahead `of. said covering wheelsl8 and 19. The seat 109e is supported .p on brackets from the sleeve 76 and therear 55 .spring 87;` 'llhe` wheell9, as wellasthejwheel.18, is

across the field, and, as previously described,

thel marker wheel 331 will mark the ground at each half revolution thereof by means of thedepressions 34in its'rim and at the instant when each marking takes place the' corn dropping mechanism will plant a hill of` corn. YVhenthe operator reaches the other end of the field he manipulates the lever 107 to elevatethe pilot wheels 98 out of engagement with the surface `of the ground and he then manipulates the lever 89 or-the footlever 94 which has the following effect:` As the operator draws tho lever 89 toward him the notch 90 in the withdrawing the clutch lsleeves 82 `and 85 intoY an inoperative position. At the'same time the lever 94, which is rigidly connected to `the4 lever' 89, will ,elevate the arm 97 which isattached tothe tongue 27 and will thereby elevate the forward end of the maf chine and cause the shaft32 to drop in the slots 35 until it reaches `the lower extremities thereof, thereby raising the markerwheel 38,- the furrowopener's 52, and the hopper housing 36 so that themarker wheel will no longer be incontactwith the surface .of the ground.. The side frame members 11 and 12 are jointed at110 to permit this movement g"4 of the arm 97, the effect ofwhich is to raise the frame of themachine-adjacent the piv "otal points 110 and `elevateall of the parts carried thereby, including the furrow open ers, until they are free of contact" with ,the surface of the fground. With adjustments "thus made, the wheel l19 will'be rotatable on the shaft-.17 so that the Wheels 18 and 19, `which are the only parts resting on the ground, will be free to revolve at different speeds while'the machine is being turned around.. The-operator then turns` around at the -end of the field andl is ready to plant two `more rows of corn parallel "to the two rows] just `plant-ed. 4The clutch mechanism on' the shaft 17 still being in inoperative po-` sition the operatorturns the pilot wheel 33 -until one of the depressions 34 is in alinement with amark madeby oneof said depressions-while planting the next preceding tworows `of corn. The lever 89 is then moved forwardly, thereby lowering the lower endthereof will engage the operating arm 80 of the clutch lever 74 pushing said i arm `1n a. forward direction and `thereby marker Wheel into contact with the surface of the ground andl simultaneously permitting the clutch sleeve 82 and 85 to pass into operative position so that the marker shaft 3Q. will thenbe operatively 4connected th rough the sprocket chain 73 and associated across the field in aline parallel'to the rows v of corn just planted and the marker wheel l5 will operate to leave ridges onthe surface of the ground in line with those made by the depressions 34 on a previous trip acrossthe field.

It-has heretofore been found in the use of machines embodying a marker wheel-that said marker wheel occasionally encounters large lumps of dirt or other obstacles in its path which cause sa-id wheel to slip or to traverse'a greater distance than the coveringand supporting wheels which were not slipping and which were notat that particular time encountering obstacles in their paths. This resulted in an error due tothe factv that the marks made by lthe marker wheel were so far out of alinement with those lnade in previous journeys! across the field, the result being that when the Work was finished the corn would not lieinrows transversely of the field as Well as longitudinally thereof. My invention has completely vovercome this difficultysince by means of the sprocket wheels and sprocket chain, which operatively connect the marker wheel and the covering and supporting wheels, all danger of slipping of themarker wheel, or other 'causesv of inaccuracy, are avoided. When vthe marker wheel encounters an obstacle in its path it is automatically checked up with the covering and supporting wheels which continue to rotate, so that no matter how many obstacles are encountered, no matter how slippery the surface,

and no matter what the vdistance maybe across the field, it will always'be 4found that the ridges left by the depressions 34: in the marker wheel will be in alinement transversely of the field with those made by the' marker wheel in previous journeys across the field. l 55 It is apparent that the operating lever S9 operates to lower the marker wheelinto engagement with the surface of the ground at the same instant that the clutch mecha` After loweror smoothing wheels 98 ahead of the supporting Awheels largely increases the reliability of the machine in keeping the Vhills of corn in alinelnent transversely of the field, since theyrcrush the lumps of earth and provide smooth surfaces for' thesupporting wheels to traverse. -It is therefore improbable that the supporting wheels will encounter obstacles whi'chwil-l cause them to slip or travel a path jof 4increased length. ,75 Even if this should happen after the pilotY wheels have passed, there is slight chance that both supporting vwheels would encoun-V ter an obstacle at the sameinst'ant, and' therefore one wheel would vautomatically check go up the other, Vsince they are bothl fixed on` the shaft when the machine is in operation.

`I have found that the use of a depression in the marker wheel instead offa ridge thereon is much more satisfactory, since a ridge left on the surface of the ground hy adepression in the Wheel is much more readily distinguished than `a depression in the ground left Ibya ridge on thesurface of the wheel. 'M f 4The use of myimprovedvlatchmember in the hopper housing,` which automatically operates to drop the corn Vsimultaneously with the marking of theA ground Yby the marker wheel *is also `-much Asuperior to former devices adapted toserve Vthis purposefsince by thismeans the dropping ofV the corn takes place instantaneously, whereas in former types wherethe corn was dropped directly fromthe 'recess in the `10e dropping disk-a considerable vtime Was required for the corn to fall andv the kernels of corn -l`intended to be planted in one :hill werenot all dropped in one spot.

It is obvious thatsince the furrow openers`52 `are each adjusted "by vindependent levers 4they maybe regulated to adapt themselves to uneven oihillyV surfaces so that the two furrows made simultaneously will always be "of equall depth.l 110 From' the foregoing description it will i be apparent that-my invention is adapted to used,not onlyfwith cornplanters, but

with various forms of drills and grain -or seed planters and,` while have described in 'detail a particular Vform of my invention, I do not intend to belimited to this particularl form and adaptation of my invention since it may be embodied in other structures of widely divergent form.

Iclaim: j V` 1. In a corn planter, a main shaft, ,a supporting-wheel fixed on said shaft, va slotted frame, a' second shaft pivotally mounted on said frame to oscillate in the slots thereof, a 125 marking-Wheel mounted' ont said secondnamed shaft, corn-droppers carried by said second shaft and vcontrolling,the discharge of corn from said hopper, andrv means oper-` atively cennecjting` said 'shafts to cause said 13o times, ,andan aulziliary mesme fhasei'faeeffilie, porting wheel.

` a cornplanter asnppf',tifiggwlieel,

a marking wheelhavingumeans thereon 'to mark theground; means operatively connecting said wlieelsdto maintain the linear `distancebeinveen successive distinctive "l `jkiiigsuniform .at all times, an auxiliary pilotwvl`1eel tosmooth the sur-,faceY ofthe groundhahead of said, support- ,t ing wheel, and means to move said auxiliary s Wheel into or out of contact with the surface of the ground.

Zl. In a corn planter, a main shaft, a supporting wheel non-rotatably mounted thereon, a second supporting wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a second parallel shaft, a marking wheel liXed on said last named shaft, and means controlled by a single operating means to cause said second-named supporting wheel to non-rotatably engage the main shaft and to operatively connect said shafts to rotate in synchronism.

5. In a corn plantel', a shaft having a marking wheel fixed thereon, means on said marking wheel to mark the ground distinctively at fixed intervals in the path of said wheel, furrow openers located one at each end of said shaft, corn hoppers located adjacent said shaft above said furrow openers, means actuated by said shaft to drop the corn into the furrows made by the furrow openers simultaneously with the distinctive marking of the ground by said wheel, and means comprising resiliently connected parts to elevate said furrow openers independently of each other.

6. In a corn planter, a shaft having a marking wheel fixed thereon, means on said marking wheel to mark the ground distinctively at fixed intervals in the path of said wheel, furrow openers located one at each end of said shaft, corn hoppers located adjacent said shaft above the furrow openers, means actuated by said shaft to drop the corn into the furrows made by the furrow openers simultaneously with the distinctive markings of the ground by said wheel, means to elevate said marking wheel, and independent means `to elevate the furrow openers.

7. In a corn planter, a main frame comprising a rear portion and a forward portion, said portions being operatively connected, a main shaft mounted in the rear portion of said frame, supporting wheels mounted on said main shaft, a marking airfacsefiths sieve@ 'inctively at intervals,

wheel shaft mounted inl vertically extending slots,adjacentthefo ard extremity of said "f1 in@ amaiks wheel fixedon` .sid' inarkin heelmshllft,and

frame vwitlircspect" tno the `rear portion there-y of toliaisefthe front end of .he rear por o i said and t'oalevatesaid vniarkirigfwheelfou't 'of Contacftvit-h tliefsurface Heeroma. a, A8,. Ilia cornplanteif, `-a frame comprisms `ai lf'ealfiwftili lidfalfriviard: por; tion,r said "portions ,being operatively i counected, la', shaft mounted" thefi'ear portion ,of f iframe,supporting` `"wheels niountedfon said :mainf shaft, a marking nheellshaft mountedi `vertically extending slots adjacent the forward ektremity of said real: portonfth frame a marking wheel. linfledi-non said marking wheel shaft between the sides of said frame, means to operatively connect said shafts to rotate in synchronism, and means to tilt said forward portion of said frame with respect to the rear portion thereof to elevate said marking wheel out of contact with the surface of the ground.

9. In a corn planter, a main frame, a marking wheel shaft mounted in slots in said main frame, a marking wheel fixed on said shaft, and a sub frame pivotally mounted on said main fame and having said marking wheel shaft journaled therein, whereby lateral tilting of said marking wheel shaft in the slots is prevented.

l0. In a corn planter, a shaft, a supporting-wheel non-rotatably mounted thereon, :i second supporting-wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a rotatably mounted markingwheel, and means for causing said secondnamed supporting-wheel to non-rotatably engage said shaft and to operatively connect said shaft and marking-wheel to rotate in synchronism and simultaneously to lower said marking-wheel into contact with the ground.

ll. In a corn planter, a shaft, supportingwheels thereon, a rotatably mounted marking-wheel and means operating when in one position to permit the supporting-wheels t-o rotate independently of each other and of said marking-wheel and to cause said marking-wheel to be elevated above the surface of the ground, and when in another position to operatively connect together said supporting-wheels and said marking-wheel to rotate in synchronism and to cause said marking-wheel to be in engagement with the surface of the ground.

12. In a corn planter, a shaft, supportingwheels thereon, a rotatably mounted marking-wheel, corn-dropping mechanism, a furrow opener Vv operating in advance of said mechanism, and means operating when in one position to permit the supporting lill) ISU wheels to rotate independently of eachA ing-wheel and furrow opener to be in en` gagement with the surface of theground.

13. In a corn planter, a shaft, supportingwheels thereon, a rotatably' mounted mark-4 ing-wheel, corn-dropping mechanism comprising a rotary element rotatable with said marking-wheel, `a furrow opener operating in advance of said corn-dropping mechanism, and means operating when in` one position t-o permit the 'supporting wheels to rotate independently of each other and of said marking-wheel and to cause said marking-wheel and furrow opener to bel elevated above the surface of the ground,` and when in another position to operatively connect together said supporting-wheels and 1said' marking-wheel to rotate in synchronism and to cause said marking-wheel and `furrow opener to be in engagement with the surface ofthe ground.

In testimony whereof, VI' have subscribed my name. v

COLONEL W. LANHAM. Witnesses:

GEO. L. VVILKINsoN, TILLIAM S. HARMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, `by addressing the Commissioner lof Patents,

Washington; D. C. 

